A Record Doubling of Youth Archers at 2013 NASP World Championship

2013 National Archery in the Schools Program World ChampionshipNational Archery in the Schools Program

St. Louis, Missouri –-(Ammoland.com)- On Saturday June 29th, 2,907 archers from 22 states and 2 provinces in Canada, representing 175 schools, met in St. Louis, Missouri at the America Center and Edward Jones Dome for the 2013 NASP World Championship.

This is 134% higher participation than the 2012 NASP World Championship.

This was the third largest archery tournament held in 2013 next to the Kentucky state tournament (4,250 students) and the 2013 NASP National Tournament (9,426 students). The archers earned their way into this event by qualifying at their respective National NASP tournaments.

This was the National Archery in the Schools Program’s (NASP) fifth consecutive world championship event. The previous four took place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Once again this event, like all NASP tournaments, events and instruction, was highly structured and tightly choreographed to maintain our zero archery related injury record. All archers experienced a quality, super safe, on time, fun and memorable event for the last tournament of the 2013 NASP season.

Thank you to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) which co-hosted this event and provided most of the staff and volunteers required for the success of the 2013 NASP world championship. Enthusiasm and professionalism exhibited by MDC staff and volunteers was critical to the success of this event.

The 2013 NASP World Championship culminated a scholastic archery season that began in January with team try-outs and moved through 42 state, several provincial, and 2 national tournaments. For example, 9,426 students competed in the largest archery tournament in the world…U.S. National NASP® Tournament held in Louisville, Kentucky on May 9th – 11th.

The NASP World Championship consisted of thirteen competitive flights; eight on Saturday and five on Sunday. Each of the archery teams were comprised of 12-24 students. As required, every NASP team contained both boys and girls. In fact 44% of the participants were female.

This world championship followed the same format and protocols that more than 2 million NASP students practiced throughout the 2012-13 school year. Each student used the same Mathews Genesis bow and Easton aluminum arrows. The bows were bare because sights, stabilizers and other aids so common in other forms of archery are absent in NASP. Every archer utilizing the exact same equipment places the focus for success on the shot process required for each arrow. Every student, regardless of their grade-level or experience, shot 5 practice and 15 scored arrows at an 80 centimeter target from both 10 and 15 meters. A perfect score is 300 (30 bulls-eyes). Team scores are established by summing the top 12 scores among the team’s archers. Both genders must be represented in the team score. Most students find archery moderately difficult — not so hard they can’t succeed and not so easy that it isn’t a challenge.

Before the awards ceremony we had to resolve a record LOW number of ties among 4 archers. Usually, we have 10+ ties to break. Ties are resolved by each archer shooting 5 practice arrows and 5 arrows for score at 15 meters. The composure exhibited by these student archers was amazing as more than 1,200 relatives, friends, and competitors witnessed the tie-breaking shoot-offs!

That composure was needed when the tie breaker to determine 5th place in the middle school male division between Blake Botner of Corbin, Kentucky and Chase Karzewski of Richmond, Kentucky resulted in a second tie and forced a single arrow tie breaker. The archer’s arrow closest to the “X” in the center of the bulls-eye is determined the winner. Blake Botner’s arrow ended up being closer by less than half the width of the arrow shaft, securing him as the 5th place winner.

Competitors at the 2013 National Archery in the Schools Program World Championship

These are the teams and individuals who won first place awards at the 2013 NASP World Championship. All other results are available at: www.archeryintheschools.org

Teams

1st Place High School: Trigg County HS Cadiz, KY (repeat from 2012)

1st Place Middle School: Caudill MS Richmond, KY (repeat from 2012)

1st Place Elementary School Woodlawn Elementary Chatsworth, GA

Individuals

4th Grade Female Josey Phipps Morning View, KY

4th Grade Male Nate Wood Henderson, KY

5th Grade Female Elizabeth Vrana Lancaster, OH

5th Grade Male Spencer Bartlett Independence, KY

6th Grade Female Christa Murphy Richmond, KY

6th Grade Male Brandon Aldridge Lawrenceburg, KY

Middle School Female Riley Mabe Henderson, KY

Middle School Male Jake Bartlett Henderson, KY

High School Female Wendi Thomas Irvington, AL (repeat from 2012)

High School Male Josh Ohlert Bellevue, IA (tied NASP record of 298)

Over-all individual female archer with a score of 297 was Riley Mabe, 8th grade archer from Henderson County South Middle School in Henderson, KY

Over-all individual male archer with a score of 298 was Josh Ohlert, 12th grade archer from Bellevue Community School in Bellevue, IA

Throughout the competition teams are encouraged to display school spirit and good sportsmanship. “Spirit Awards” were presented to: Hayden Elementary from Seymour, IN, Caudill Middle School (BMCS) from Richmond, KY, and Alberta Canada’s H.A. Kostash High School. It is well-noted that Hayden Elementary is a perennial Spirit Champion as well as a medal-level winning team.

The location of the 2014 NASP World Championship is to be announced at a later date. Right now it looks like it could be held in either Des Moines, IA or Madison, WI.

Many thanks to these, NASP Medal Level Sponsors for supporting the National Archery in the Schools Program and this event:

Double Platinum: Mathews, Mission & Genesis Archery

Platinum: Morrell Targets

Gold: Easton Sports Development Foundations

Gold: National Wild Turkey Foundation

Gold: Gordon Composites

Silver: Easton Technical Products

Silver: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Bronze: National Guard

Bronze: Archery Trade Association

Additionally, thanks to these NASP Sponsors for their support of the 2013 NASP® World Championship: Field Logic, Rinehart Targets, Bowtree, BCY, & Electronic Awards